Battle of Wancheng
The Battle of Wancheng was a series of battles fought between Cao Cao 曹操 and Zhang Xiu 張繡 in Jing Province. Battle Battle of Yu River In Feb. 197 A.D., Cao Cao headed south to Jing Province in order to annex the lands on his southern border. Having reached Wan, Zhang Xiu came out to the Yu River 淯水 in welcome of Cao Cao and surrendered to him. Cao Cao was very pleased and he invited Zhang Xiu and his commanders for a great feast. However, the amity between them lasted no more than a dozen days. Cao Cao took the widow of Zhang Ji 張濟, an elder clansman of Zhang Xiu, for himself; and also, to Hu Che'er 胡車兒, who was the crowning glory of Zhang Xiu's army, Cao Cao gave gold because he admired his strength and resolve. So Zhang Xiu resented Cao Cao for taking Zhang Ji's widow and feared that he was also plotting to turn his attendants against him.SGZ: Fu Xuan's annotations quoted in the Biography of Zhang XiuZhang Xiu's SGZ is the only one to contain any accounts as to the motivations of the rebellion, and actually says that Cao Cao conspired to kill Zhang Xiu because he heard that Zhang Xiu was resentful of his daliance with Zhang Ji's widow. Considering how unprepared Cao Cao was for Zhang Xiu's raid, it doesn't seem that he expected any hostilities. And the 'plan to assassinate Zhang Xiu' may be simply the giving of gold to Hu Che'er as Fu Xuan has recorded. Cao Cao's intention would have been to expand his support to the south and a few years later Zhang Xiu again surrenders to Cao Cao which he graciously accepts, so Cao Cao wouldn't have set out with the intention of harming Zhang Xiu. Using the advice of his counsellor, Jia Xu 賈詡, Zhang Xiu begged Cao Cao that he be allowed to resituate his army, which in doing so required he take the high road, which passed through Cao Cao's camp. Zhang Xiu also to Cao Cao: :"Our carts are few and heavy, I beg you permit each of my soldiers to wear their armour thereby relieving the carts." Cao Cao trusted Zhang Xiu and in all points heeded him, thus was Zhang Xiu able to bring his army to Cao Cao's position and launch a devastating surprise attack on his camp.Oddly, no mention of this is in Jia Xu's SGZ, which is fairly detailed, and this account is recorded in the Wu shu as opposed to the Wei shu. The horse Cao Cao was riding was shot and Cao Cao himself was also hit in the right arm. His eldest son Cao Ang 曹昂 gave his father his horse so Cao Cao was able to escape, but this resulted in Cao Ang's death. One of Cao Cao's nephews, Cao Anmin 曹安民, was also killed.SGZ: Book of Wu annotations quoted in the Biography of Zhang XiuSGZ: Book of Wei quoted in the Biography of Cao CaoSGZ: Tales of Generations quoted in the Biography of Cao CaoSGZ: Biography of Cao Cao Cao Cao's Colonel Dian Wei 典韋 fought the enemy under the camp's main gate prevent them from entry there forcing Zhang Xiu's men to scatter around to the secondary gates for ingress. At that time, Dian Wei still had a dozen men at his side, all of them fought desperately and none were not a match for 10 men. Zhang Xiu's forces continued to pressure the main gate, Dian Wei wielded long halberds to strike those about him, with each swing a dozen enemy spears were destroyed. Those about him were all dead or wounded, and Dian Wei himself was covered in dozens of wounds and there were no reinforcements in sight. Men came forward to seize him, and he grabbed a pair of them under his arms, struck and killed both of them, the remaining enemies did not dare come forward. Dian Wei charged at the enemy, killing several men, but his wounds were serious; he glared angrily at them, cursed them and then finally succumbed to his wounds. Only then did the enemy dare to advance. When Cao Cao heard Dian Wei died he wept.SGZ: Biography of Dian Wei The surprising raid had hit Cao Cao hard, he had fled with his light cavalry to Wuyin 舞陰Wuyin county was east of Wan, near present-day Sheqi. and his army was in disarray. Colonel Who Pacifies Caitiffs Yu Jin 于禁 kept his compsure and compelled those hundreds of men under his command to battle, and although some should die or be wounded they were not to flee. It was only once the enemy attack had somewhat dulled that Yu Jin cautiously ordered an orderly withdrawal, sounding the drums as he withdrew. Yu Jin's troops had not yet arrived at Cao Cao's location when he caught sight of a dozen naked and wounded men on the road. Yu Jin asked them what had happened, they said: :"The Qing Province troops have robbed us." Earlier, some Yellow Turbans surrendered to Cao Cao and he named them the Qing Province troops, Cao Cao had been lenient on them and hence they dared to return to pillaging.The Qing Province Troops (or Qingzhou Troops) were subdued in Yan Province in 192 A.D. Cao Cao chose the best among them and made the Qing Province Troops to supplement his own forces, which were quite modest at that time, instead of executing them for their banditry. Yu Jin was furious, he ordered his masses: :"The Qing Province troops submitted to Lord Cao, yet they've returned to banditry!" Thereupon he went to punish them. Yu Jin tallied their crimes and they abruptly fled to see Cao Cao himself and lodge a complaint against Yu Jin. But since Yu Jin arrived at Cao Cao's camp, instead of going to see Cao Cao he first erected ramparts and saw to the base's defences. Someone said to Yu Jin: :"Sir, the Qing Province troops have already lodged a complaint against you. You should hasten to Cao Cao and explain yourself." But Yu Jin replied: :"At present the traitors are behind us, their pursuit will arrive in no time, if we do not first make preparations, how will we deal with the enemy? Furthermore, our Lord is too perspicacious, we will see through their slander and complaints!" Yu Jin dug out a moat around the camp and only once the camp was secure did he go to visit Cao Cao and explain his position. Cao Cao was pleased, he said to Yu Jin: :"At the disaster of Yu River, even I was in a state of emergency. But you were orderly amidst the chaos, you punished the violent, and fortified the ramparts showing unflappable conduct. Could even the famous generals of ancient times do better!"SGZ: Biography of Yu Jin Zhang Xiu's cavalry pursued Cao Cao to Wuyin and attacked him, but Cao Cao hit back hard and Zhang Xiu fled to Rang 穰Rang city was southwest of Wan. to be closer to Liu Biao. Cao Cao spoke to his various officers, saying: :"When I received the surrender of Zhang Xiu I failed to take hostages and because of that its come to this. I know why I was defeated. Take note, gentlemen, I will not be defeated in this way again." Thereupon Cao Cao returned to his capital, Xu 許 city.SGZ: Biography of Cao Cao Since Cao Cao's return from Wuyin, several counties in the Nanyang 南陽 and Zhangling 章陵 commanderies revolted in response to the hostilities with Zhang Xiu. Cao Cao dispatched Counsellor Remonstrant Cao Hong 曹洪 to strike them, but he failed and he withdrew and garrisoned at Ye 葉. And those rebels frequently invaded on behalf of Zhang Xiu and Liu Biao. In the winter during the 11th month, Cao Cao himself went south to subdue them, arriving at Wan. Liu Biao's officer Deng Ji 鄧濟 had occupied Huyang 湖陽 county.Huyang was west of Xinye in present-day Henan. Cao Cao attacked and seize it, capturing Deng Ji alive and receiving the surrender of Huyang. He then went on to attack Wuyin and captured it as well. Battle of Anzhong In the third month of 198 A.D.Late March to April. Cao Cao prepared to attack Zhang Xiu again, who was still occupying Rang. Master of the Army Xun You 荀攸 counselled against the attack, saying: :"Zhang Xiu and Liu Biao rely on one another to be strong; however, Zhang Xiu's army has no base and looks to Liu Biao for food, and Liu Biao is unable to keep him supplied, so they will certainly part ways. It would be better to postpone the attack in order to await this, or maybe even precipitate this. If you worry them, they will certainly go to one another's aid."SGZ: Biography of Xun You But Cao Cao did not heed this and went anyway. Cao Cao besieged Zhang Xiu at Rang while he also gave Grand Administrator of Guangyang 廣陽 Cao Ren 曹仁 a separate command and sent him to attack Xunpang 徇旁 county, where he captured over 3,000 men and women. The siege went on for about two months but then Cao Cao was forced to withdraw. Some deserters from the north informed Cao Cao that his rival in the north, Yuan Shao, had been advised by Tian Feng 田豐 to make an assault on Xu city in order to wrest control of the Emperor from Cao Cao's control. Fearing his power base was unguarded, Cao Cao prepared to withdraw. Cao Cao's retreat did not go unnoticed and Zhang Xiu himself prepared to go in pursuit, but Jia Xu counselled against it, saying: :"You must not pursue him. Pursue him and you will certainly be defeated." Zhang Xiu dismissed his objections and went in pursuit anyway; and to make matters worse Liu Biao had indeed come to assist Zhang Xiu by dispatching soldiers to cut Cao Cao's lines of communication. Cao Cao was forced to curtail his advance and made successive camps as he gradually moved forward. Cao Cao wrote to Xun You, saying: :"The traitors have come in pursuit of me, and although I can travel only a few li daily, I have a plan for it. When I reach Anzhong,Anzhong was east of Rang city along Cao Cao's line of retreat. defeating Zhang Xiu will be a certainty." Fortunately for Cao Cao he also received reinforcements from Cao Ren who returned from his separate campaign to bolster the main forces and General of the Gentlemen of the Household Who Inspires Awe Li Tong 李通 had travelled through the night from the western border of Runan commandery to provide reinforcements and he also volunteered to serve as the vanguard.SGZ: Biography of Cao RenSGZ: Biography of Li Tong Cao Cao reached Anzhong where he was surrounded by Zhang Xiu at his back and Liu Biao in front of him, they occupied two sides of the strategic passes so that Cao Cao's army was under pressure from both sides. During the night, Cao Cao cut tunnels into the pass and had his entire baggage train cross through. When morning came, the enemy forces saw that Cao Cao had made his escape and their armies came from either side and hurriedly pursued Cao Cao. However, the retreat was a feint and Cao Cao's forces were waiting in ambush, he let loose his cavalry and footmen and struck them from both sides, inflicting a serious defeat.Not enitrely sure what to make of this. Either Cao Cao cut into the pass so he could conceal some fraction of his troops while he advanced to deal with Liu Biao's men and the ambuscade struck the pursuing forces from either side; or, Cao Cao cut paths through the pass so he could make what seemed to be an escape, when Zhang Xiu and Liu Biao cme from either side in pursuit, they were caught in a bottleneck and hit from both sides. Jia Xu's SGZ mentions a second battle following this defeat, so in the very least Zhang Xiu's forces were not wiped out, merely routed. Thereupon Cao Cao was able to hurry back to Xu city. Two months later, Xun You asked Cao Cao: :"In the past you had a scheme that made the traitor's defeat certain, how were you sure?" Cao Cao said: :"The enemy had blocked my line of retreat and in doing so gave me a 'death place' battle. Therefore I knew I would be victorious."SGZ: Biography of Cao CaoSun Wu's Art of War also writes about this in the 7th chapter on Manoeuvring. 'Do not interfere with an enemy that is returning home. When you surround an enemy, leave an outlet free. Do not press a desperate foe too hard.' Which all reduces to the fact that a force looking to return to their homes will fight harder to break through any blockade and those with no chances of escape will have no choice but to fight to the death. Zhang Xiu had been badly defeated and withdrew, but Jia Xu spoke to Zhang Xiu, saying: :"Hurry, once more pursue him. Battle once more and you will certainly be victorious." Zhang Xiu apologised and said: :"Lord, I did not use your advice and have come to this. Now, I've already been defeated, how can I pursue him again?" Jia Xu replied: :"The situation has changed, I implore you to go, you will certainly benefit." Zhang Xiu was uncertain but he trusted Jia Xu's advice, collected his scattered soldiers and went in pursuit, there was a great battle and sure enough he was victorious and he returned. Perplexed, he asked Jia Xu: :"I used elite soldiers to pursue a retreating army, yet you said I would certainly be defeated; I withdrew then used defeated soldiers to strike victorious soldiers, yet you said I would certainly overcome them. Everything was as you said, how could it be contrary to the theory of warfare yet in both cases prove true?" Jia Xu said: :"This was easy to know. General, although you are good at using soldiers, you are not Cao Cao's equal; and although his army had recently retreated, Cao Cao would certainly act as rearguard himself; and your pursuit force, although elite, are not equal to Cao Cao's officers and also don't possess the fighting spirit of Cao Cao's warriors, hence I knew you would certainly be defeated. General, as Cao Cao was attacking you he had not failed in his schemes nor was his power exhausted, yet he retreated, there must certainly be some internal reason for this. Having already defeated you, he would certainly make light of the army and quickly advance and leave his various officers to act as rearguard. His officers, although valiant, are not your equal, General, hence although you used defeated soldiers you were certainly be victorious in battle."SGZ: Biography of Jia Xu Aftermath After the few battles both sides had victories and losses and neither had gained much. Cao Cao was unable to pursue further campaigns south as he had Lü Bu 呂布 impinging upon he eastern flank and Yuan Shao pressuring him from the north. In 200 A.D. when Cao Cao was under attack from Yuan Shao at Guandu 官渡, Yuan Shao thought that the past conflicts between Zhang Xiu and Cao Cao made him a perfect candidate for an ally and sent envoys to formalise an alliance. Zhang Xiu intended to agree but Jia Xu interceded and turned away Yuan Shao's envoy and told Zhang Xiu to turn to Cao Cao. Zhang Xiu was confused but Jia Xu said to him: :"These reasons are why you should follow Cao Cao. Cao Cao waits upon the Emperor in order to give orders to the whole empire; this is the first reason he should be followed. Yuan Shao is strong and prosperous, if we bring our meagre forces to him, he will certainly not see us as important. Cao Cao's forces and weak, if he obtains us he will certainly be pleased; this is the second reason he should be followed. When a man has aspirations of hegemony, he will surely let go of personal enmity in order to make his virtue clear in all directions; this is the third reason he should be followed. General, have no doubt!" Cao Cao graciously accepted Zhang Xiu's assistance and threw him a great feast; Cao Cao even had one of his sons, Cao Jun 曹均, marry Zhang Xiu's daughter.SGZ: Biography of Jia XuSGZ: Biography of Zhang Xiu Notes References